12.28.2007

I am battling yet another cold, my fourth or fifth in the last few months now. The result of working in the school and being exposed to a six hundred times the germs I am usually exposed to.

Only this latest sniffling bugger of a cold didn't come from the school, it came from a shopping cart or some other public spot. And I kicked the door open wide for it to come and make itself comfortable in my nose by not getting enough good sleep and being really stressed over the last week or so.

To help combat these repeated and tiring battles between my beleaguered immune system and the galaxy of pathogens, I'm educating myself on what I can do to strengthen my defenses and stay healthier.

1. Get enough sleep.2. Wash your hands thoroughly and often.3. Chicken soup, mushrooms and green tea can help boost immune response.4. Listening to music can help elevate IGA (a protein from the immune system that helps fight infections) levels in the short term and can last beyond the last note. Music can also help de-stress which is good for both mental and physical health.5. Sex can also boost IGA levels as well as just a loving touch.6. Echinacea alone will not help but has long been thought to boost immune response when used in conjunction with other herbs.

To that end, I'm going to go and have myself some soup while listening to some Cake. But I'll be taking my tissues with me.